In the manga this TV series is adapted from, author Gosho Aoyama would feature two particular things in each volume: a caricaturized depiction of himself getting murdered in various ways, and a famous detective from literature or film. Remembering that little section of the manga got me the idea for my little segment here, which would hopefully give my readers unfamiliar with the anime something to connect with. Sometimes, I would describe the detective in my own words and reflect my own feelings; other times, if I'm not too familiar with the detective Gosho highlighted in his manga, I would still try to share some information about him (or her) for your fancy. Please enjoy.
Featured Detective of the Day
Sherlock Holmes Creator: Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle
Originated From: Britain, United Kingdom
First Appearance: 1887, "A Study in Scarlet"
First Appearance On Film: 1900, "Sherlock Holmes Baffled", an American silent film by Arthur Marvin
Notable Portrayals: Countless; Benedict Cumberbatch, Robert Downey Jr., Jeremy Bretts, Peter Cushing, Basil Rathbone, and Christopher Lee among them
Aoyama's Recommendation: "The Sign of the Four"
A brilliant London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his intellectual prowess and is renowned for his skillful use of astute observation, deductive reasoning and forensic skills to solve difficult cases.
Holmes is famous for using small details, such as mud or water stains, to piece together the solution to a crime. He can use the same method to figure out someone's occupation. When he first met Watson, he was able to tell with a glance and a handshake that he was an army surgeon and had been to Afghanistan. He was also quite physically fit, skilled at boxing, fencing, and baritsu.
Although a fictional character, Kudo Shinichi looks up to him as the world's greatest detective. Shinichi admires his deductive skills, physical abilities, and even his love for the violin. It was to be more like Holmes that Shinichi played soccer and picked up the violin.Over the decades, there have been so many portrayals of the iconic detective with the deerstalker. Although most of my childhood memories of the character came from the frequent allusions made in the anime, it's built enough enthusiasm in me that I would become excited whenever I see that name on television or movies. And of course, the BBC
Sherlock TV series certainly became the peak of that excitement.
The first and only book I've read about Sherlock was his very first adventure in
A Study in Scarlet, and I remember reading till the second-half of the book, where the crime was solved and it began talking about a caravan of nomads or something... Naturally, I lost interest, but I'm glad I made it that far. The detective's godlike perceptions were fascinating to me as a kid, of course, just as a superhero and a magician would attract the fancies of a child with their amazing feats. There is a mystifying glamour to the power over truth. Sherlock's rapid arrivals at the conclusion of a mystery was enviable, especially when it's done with such wit and flair.
Some of Sherlock's famous quotes recited by Shinichi in the anime became my own favorite quotes, such that by the time Cumberbatch got around to say that particular line, I was squealing like an adolescent fangirl. The thing is, back then, I was still in that phase of not thinking much for myself. I never really thought about why I liked those quotes, just that they sounded cool to me. For example, one of my favorites was "Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth." It's a nice deductive technique for getting at the truth, but for the 12 year old me, it might as well have been just a clever one-liner. And how rightly so.
Before Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and possibly even Spider-Man, I already had a favorite 'good vs. evil' match-up. While older kids had Luke and Vader, mine was an antagonism yet again made allusion to in Conan: Sherlock vs. Moriarty.
The famous Reichenbach fall is perhaps one of my fondest memories of Sherlock allusions in Detective Conan. It became fixated in my mind, that iconic scene of Sherlock and Moriarty's last stand atop the cliff. Years later, when Guy Ritchie brought that childhood recollection to life in
A Game of Shadows, I was ecstatic, regardless of my later feelings about Robert's portrayal of the titular character. I was like,
"Yes! I finally got to see that legendary battle!" It's wonderful how literary icons like them could make a boy who never liked books become just a little interested in these timeless stories of old. Sherlock is truly worthy of standing alongside other literary titans the likes of Shelley and Stoker.
Jared Harris is essentially my favorite Moriarty on-screen yet, even more than Andrew Scott's more eccentric take on the villain. It's not so much Jared's acting that won me over though, no. His acting was functional, but not that compelling. Rather, it's the above scene during Sherlock's first encounter with Moriarty that got me excited. Ritchie played up the antagonist quite well in the movie, giving him a larger than life aura of intimidation that makes him a believable challenge against our slick-tongue detective. There's a more theatrical, dramatic atmosphere between Sherlock and Moriarty here than there is in the BBC TV series, which felt a bit more toned down and grounded. The thin plot of the movie aside, that scene above was quite an entertaining tribute to the first meeting of both legends.
Aside from Reichenbach, Detective Conan has allured me to many other aspects of Sherlockian fiction as well. In fact, I could hardly name a single thing I love about Sherlock that didn't originate from the anime's allusions. The animated TV series was that important to building the Sherlock fan in me. One particular aspect is something I've already mentioned before - the steeple. The first time I learned of this iconic pose was not from the books, but from the sixth movie of the anime,
The Phantom of Baker Street.
As the name implies, the movie takes place in Baker Street, albeit a virtual reality version of it which also happens to feature both Moriarty and the Holmes himself. It's like Christmas for both Conan and I, having to basked in the world of Sherlock come to life. After learning of the detective's famous pose, I couldn't help but find myself striking a similar posture often when I'm thinking of something. It became my Superman flying pose, my Darth Vader choke hold. The stuff of childhood fantasies.
There is one more important part of Sherlock that I first learned from this movie -
the woman. Oh, the woman. Irene Adler.
She was a real mystery to me at first. All I knew of her was that she's supposed to be an old flame of Sherlock, and I never paid much heed to her. It's not until I did some research years later (along with the help of Ritchie's movies) that I found out that she was so much more. By the time Lara Pulver came along with the amazing "Scandal in Belgravia", she had my heart melted in her grips. Ah, the woman. She was really something else. The perfect partner to match Sherlock's intellect and wits. Like the ensemble dark horse of
Star Wars, Boba Fett, Irene was a character whose existence in Sherlockian fiction was brief, but her brief stay was unforgettable, transcending through time.
There were many other wonders and magic to this mystic hero, too many to mention in this post alone. What is your fondest memory of the Deerstalker Detective? Which famous literary detective would you like to see featured next?